I remember all the emotions of that City game. The shock of seeing Scholes on the bench, the joy of being 3-0, the excitement of seeing Scholes come on again, turning into a nervous wreck going from 3-0 to 3-1 to 3-2, to relief at the final whistle.

I'm glad he left with Ferguson on a high rather than after 11/12, despite not being at his best in 12/13.

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Same. It just felt right! He did have some good games that season so it wasn't all bad. Two I remember were Wigan at home (he scored in a 4-0 win) and away to West Ham in the FA Cup. He probably had more but those are two I remember.

So many were moaning about it back then to my surprise. I remember reading the team sheet and being so excited about it -- Scholes was back! Logged in to Redcafe and saw all the moaners and thought... jeez..

If you watched the match itself, you would definitely know that he brought a calming influence into our midfield every single time he came on. He played like a man beyond his years and merited at least some starts after doing so well. Maybe he didnt get the awards but I do recall 1) SAF promising him and Ravel some starts or he feared losing them (Summer 2011) and 2) Seeing two defenders in midfield when our midfield was decimated against Blackburn and how terribly we played that day. I knew Pogba had to be fuming...because for all the performances he put in, he wasnt given a fair shot.

If you watched the match itself, you would definitely know that he brought a calming influence into our midfield every single time he came on. He played like a man beyond his years and merited at least some starts after doing so well. Maybe he didnt get the awards but I do recall 1) SAF promising him and Ravel some starts or he feared losing them (Summer 2011) and 2) Seeing two defenders in midfield when our midfield was decimated against Blackburn and how terribly we played that day. I knew Pogba had to be fuming...because for all the performances he put in, he wasnt given a fair shot.

Here is a vid from that home debut against Stoke:

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That's just not true. I remember excitedly waiting for him to come on as a sub only for him to disappoint (just a little), and calming influence is the last thing I would describe his cameos. Plus he never got MOTM in any matches, you might have given yours to him but no, just not true.

Wait a second, this timeline is a bit off. Fabio didnt play against Blackburn that year. It was Park Ji-Sung holding and Danny Welbeck in the centre midfield role with Nani and Valencia as wingers and Hernandez and Berbatov up front. I remember because Carrick would help out as a sweeper type centre half to help the midfield out and Wellbeck would drift out wide.

Pogba thing is overblown. It was the defenders that were all injured. Vidic, Ferdinand and Evans were all out, so Carrick had to join the defence. This was more of an experiment gone wrong, rather than Ferguson not giving Pogba a chance.

Wait a second, this timeline is a bit off. Fabio didnt play against Blackburn that year. It was Park Ji-Sung holding and Danny Welbeck in the centre midfield role with Nani and Valencia as wingers and Hernandez and Berbatov up front. I remember because Carrick would help out as a sweeper type centre half to help the midfield out and Wellbeck would drift out wide.

Pogba thing is overblown. It was the defenders that were all injured. Vidic, Ferdinand and Evans were all out, so Carrick had to join the defence. This was more of an experiment gone wrong, rather than Ferguson not giving Pogba a chance.

Pogba was being punished for not signing a new contract. Surely, even an off form Pogba is better then Cleverley.

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Precisely. It was blatantly obvious, especially as he knew Scholes was coming back..... I doubt those two were any kind of friends on or off the pitch. Which is why I take what Scholes says about him with a pinch of salt.

Love Scholesy but he should never have needed to be brought back. Ferguson make a complete and utter mess of that midfield.

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Yet still won the league in 12/13 with a midfield that would make most top managers shudder, a real shame he couldn't hang on to spend the real money we have done since he left, sure as hell he'd have spent it better.

If you watched the match itself, you would definitely know that he brought a calming influence into our midfield every single time he came on. He played like a man beyond his years and merited at least some starts after doing so well. Maybe he didnt get the awards but I do recall 1) SAF promising him and Ravel some starts or he feared losing them (Summer 2011) and 2) Seeing two defenders in midfield when our midfield was decimated against Blackburn and how terribly we played that day. I knew Pogba had to be fuming...because for all the performances he put in, he wasnt given a fair shot.

So not only was he playing childish games with Pogba, he went completely overboard with sanctioning three players we couldnt afford to be without in a game which ultimately proved to be a game that cost us the title.

Liked the bit about Pogba not playing well enough to warrant a starting place in the first team.

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Everyone forgets how awful he was against Palace when we were bounced out of the League Cup that year. It's nice to see that the common view of Pogba's reserve performances being poor at the time is shared by the likes of Scholes. There is a lot of revisionist history based on a few cameos after that infamous Blackburn match.

If you watched the match itself, you would definitely know that he brought a calming influence into our midfield every single time he came on. He played like a man beyond his years and merited at least some starts after doing so well. Maybe he didnt get the awards but I do recall 1) SAF promising him and Ravel some starts or he feared losing them (Summer 2011) and 2) Seeing two defenders in midfield when our midfield was decimated against Blackburn and how terribly we played that day. I knew Pogba had to be fuming...because for all the performances he put in, he wasnt given a fair shot.

Here is a vid from that home debut against Stoke:

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I did watch the match itself. I watched all his cameos. He absolutely did not bring a “calming influence into our midfield” every time he featured: The Stoke game was actually the one and only appearance where he impressed. He was fecking dreadful in the League Cup. Came off the bech and the next substitution was forced by the need to compensate for the game completely passing him by since he came on.